More than $8 billion in disability insurance payments were made by Center for Disability Awareness (CDA) member companies to over 587,000 disabled individuals during 2010, according to the CDA’s 2011 Long-Term Disability Claims Review. Additionally, CDA member companies approved long-term disability insurance benefits for 139,000 new individuals – a 2.6 percent increase from 2009. Insured lives declined by 0.8 percent, however, due to general job losses throughout the country, decreased worker participation in existing disability insurance plans, and fewer employers providing group long-term disability programs in 2010.
The CDA has conducted its annual Long-Term Disability Claims Review since 2005. The Claims Review analyzes data regarding private and public long-term disability claims that is gathered from CDA member companies, which are comprised of the top U.S. disability insurance companies that account for approximately 75% of the commercial disability insurance market. The Claims Review uses the data to identify disability trends among U.S. employees.
The Claims Review also revealed the following key information:
- More than half of participating companies reported an increase in claim incidence, with most suggesting that the increase was impacted by the recession.
- Musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases, such as arthritis, spine disorders, back pain, sciatica and osteoporosis, were the leading cause of new and existing disability claims.
- Other common causes of claims were nervous system related disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and Parkinson’s Disease, heart and circulatory system diseases, and cancer.
- Approximately 90 percent of new long-term disability claims were caused by illnesses rather than accidents, with fewer than 5 percent job related.
- Applications for SSDI benefits increased to 2.9 million and new SSDI awards totaled over one million in 2010, both of which represent all-time highs for SSDI.
- The ratio of applications approved as a percentage of the applications received remains near its 25-year low. The experienced Illinois social security disability attorneys at Ankin Law Offices, LLC can help you pursue your social security disability claim and answer any questions that you may have. Contact us at (800) 442-6546 to schedule a free consultation.